PHOENIX, Arizona (Washington Insider Magazine) – Officials reported Tuesday that an autopsy revealed a migrant died from numerous gunshots over the weekend after allegedly getting shot by Border Patrol officers in southern Arizona.
The official cause of death was confirmed by the Pima County Medical Examiner, but no further information will be available until the full examination report is completed. When that will happen is uncertain.
According to ABC NEWS, the shooting took place around 10 p.m. Saturday in mountainous terrain about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the neighboring town of Douglas during an encounter among a Border Patrol officer and some migrants who had been in the united states illegally, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. Several migrants were apprehended in the same location near Skeleton Canyon by officials.
The Office of Professional Responsibility of Customs and Border Protection, which oversees internal inquiries, is alleged to be participating in the probe, according to the sheriff’s office.
New CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, who was appointed early this year after acting as Tucson police chief, has a slew of hurdles, including use-of-force complaints.
In recent years, officers have been implicated in a growing number of use-of-force situations. CBP documented an estimated 50 use-of-force occurrences per month through Donald Trump’s last 28 months in office. Under President Joe Biden, the number of occurrences rose by 20% to a monthly average of 70.
There have also been more Border Patrol official deaths, despite the fact that the number of confrontations with migrants has increased even more rapidly.
In 2021, over 60 Border Patrol interactions ended in fatalities, three times the number in 2019 and 4 times the decade’s average. Car pursuits that resulted in deaths increased from 2 in 2019 to twenty-three in 2021.
The sheriff’s office said only on Tuesday that the autopsy of the adult migrant who was killed over the weekend had been completed and that investigators were working on identifying him.
Since an early Tweet claiming that officers were responding to a complaint of a person being gravely hurt, CBP has revealed nothing regarding the incident.
The Mexican Embassy is collaborating with sheriff’s officers to locate the migrant and alert his or her family. The embassy in Douglas did not respond to an email requesting further information on Tuesday afternoon.